JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 20, 2008 — Responding correctly to challenges and difficulties can result in a fresh and total dependence upon God, 51社区 President David S. Dockery said Feb. 19.
鈥淥ut of the rubble across this campus I am praying that we will see renewal in the lives of dozens, and hundreds, of students, staff, faculty, administrators and trustees,鈥� Dockery said.
Dockery addressed a standing-room-only crowd of about 1,500 people who gathered in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel for the first time since a Feb. 5 tornado decimated parts of Union鈥檚 campus. The service featured singing, Scripture reading, prayer and a devotional address from Dockery.
Union students returned to the campus Feb. 19 after a two-week break from class, as university personnel worked to make the campus operational again. Classes began today.
鈥淏lessed Be Your Name,鈥� echoed throughout the chapel as students, faculty members and others in the Union community gathered to praise the God who spared the Union body from death.
鈥淏lessed be your name, on the road marked with suffering,鈥� the crowd sang. 鈥淵ou give and take away, but my heart will choose to say, 鈥楤lessed be your name.鈥欌��
Dockery noted that this is a time for students to start anew as they, once again, begin university life at Union.
鈥淭he Miller Tower clock that has not moved for 336 hours will move again as we start afresh,鈥� Dockery said in his greeting to the gathered body. 鈥淲e start afresh because of God鈥檚 grace, his providence and the hard work and determination of his people.鈥�
Provost Carla Sanderson expressed words of care and devotion over Union鈥檚 situation through prayer.
鈥淥 Lord, thank you for providing a place of refuge in the rubble,鈥� Sanderson prayed. 鈥淎 perfect and strong refuge that saved our loved ones from death.鈥�
Although the tornado that caused about $40 million in damages left many devastated and displaced, Dockery said the Union family continues to push forward with hope in God鈥檚 sovereignty and provisions.
鈥淚t is hard to imagine 14 days ago where we stand,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淏ut by God鈥檚 grace, we are here tonight to enjoy one another鈥檚 fellowship, to reconnect together and to focus on the God who has sustained us.鈥�
Dockery said that although many students may desire to return to life at Union as it was prior to the storm, he said looking forward in faith would provide sustainment despite the difficulty.
鈥淔or some of us, Feb. 5 has resulted in much confusion, causing us to struggle deeply with our faith,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淏ut faith is not free from complexity nor is it free from challenge.鈥�
Dockery used Psalm 84 to relate Union鈥檚 past and future to the prayers of the psalmist, who longed for the place where he had met the living God. He emphasized to Union students that it was the psalmist鈥檚 displacement from that special location that created within him a longing for God and the things of God.
鈥淚t may well be that our current situation may result in a new yearning and hunger for God and the things of God for many of us here tonight, Dockery said.
The university president identified two things that students can know: that like the psalmist, they must go through their own 鈥渧alley of tears,鈥� but that through the difficulties 鈥渢he one, true, living God is both good and faithful.鈥�
鈥淪ome of us have shed tears daily for the past 14 days,鈥� Dockery said.
鈥淔or the next several months we will be passing through the 鈥榁alley of Baca,鈥� the valley of tears, and we will help each other and hold onto each other,鈥� he said.
Dockery cited C.S. Lewis鈥� book 鈥淭he Problem of Pain,鈥� in which Lewis says that God often uses the experiences of suffering as a megaphone to awaken his people. Suffering and pain, according to Lewis, are often the essential means by which God brings about dependence, fortitude, patience and forgiveness in his children.
鈥淐ertainly we have seen hundreds of acts of mercy and compassion from people near and far,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淣ow we pray that God will work in our lives to bring about patience with one another, forgiveness when we have been wronged as well as seeking forgiveness when we have been the ones in the wrong, and fortitude and courage to face the challenges that are now ours.
鈥淢ost of all, we pray for an urgent sense of our complete and total dependence upon God for all aspects of life,鈥� he continued.
Dockery said that although the pre-Feb. 5 51社区 is irretrievable, he looks forward to 鈥渘ew future.鈥�
鈥淗ere, the impossible can become possible,鈥� Dockery said in comparing Union鈥檚 situation with that of the psalmist. 鈥淎ffliction can point us to joy. Ashes can become beauty, hardship can be turned to rejoicing, rubble can become renewal and weakness can be transformed into strength. We can, by God鈥檚 grace, become an oasis of hope to others across this campus.
鈥淲e claim the promise of the final verse of Psalm 84: 鈥極 Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you.鈥欌��